Hyderabad: The death toll of pilgrims from AP rose to nine on Thursday as the extent of the disaster in Uttarakhand started becoming clear. Six pilgrims from Vizag were reported dead in Kedarnath town. Two others from Guntur died while hundreds were still stranded in Uttarakhand. One person from Anantapur was reported dead on Wednesday.
Pilgrims walked 25 hrs to safety
B. Dheeraj, a Sanathnagar resident who survived the Uttarakhand floods, recalls the flash floods as “the most horrifying experience.” Dheeraj told this newspaper over phone:  “We started walking through the hills on our own. Someone told us that the copters would arrive and airlift people, but there was no trace of them. It took us about 14 hours to walk to Baneri and then another 11 hours to reach Uttarkashi. We are in Uttarkashi now.”
He said there was no help from the government, but locals gave them food. “We ate whatever we found,” Dheeraj said. Talking of the walk, Dheeraj said, “The track was such that only one person could pass at a time. Many in our group were elderly and had to be lifted. The locals charged us exorbitantly. Money was a problem as none of the ATMs were working.”
“At Uttarkashi, the government-appointed doctor would stay for two-three hours and leave. From the second day, we have been charged,” he said. B.R. Srinath, whose relatives had gone on the Char Dham yatra, received information that they were safe. “They said they are safe in Rudraprayag. They are all elderly people. Food is a big problem for them. They got some food from the rescue team, but only on the fourth day. They said they have run out of medicines and it is very cold. Their luggage is left behind in their hotel, they are not sure if it is still standing.”
Rajesh, a resident of Neredmet, said his parents and a relative had reached Haridwar. “Many of them are sharing the same phone, so our conversation was really short. They were returning from Badrinath when the problem started.
They had to stay in the bus for two days near Uttarkashi and food was a problem. My father is diabetic but luckily he had his injections. They paid locals for food which was priced very high. Later they found a place to stay.”
Vizag woman died looking for shelter
The six pilgrims from Vizag who died in Uttarakhand were part of a group of 15 from two families which had gone on the Char Dham yatra. On Thursday, K. Keerthi Pujitha, a second-year B.Tech student who is part of the group, called up her relatives and said that they were caught in the floods at Kedarnath.
She added that five persons — K. Adhilakshmi, 70, her sons K. Narayana Rao, 36, K. Seetha Ramaswamy, 50, and K. Rama Rao, 46, her 46-year-old nephew P. Shyam Prasad and P.S. Prakash Rao, 64 — died in the floods.
Also, D Kameswari, 68, and P. Ratna from the same group were missing. While, 45-year-old K. Indrani and Prasanna Lakshmi, 35, are safe and have been shifted to Dehradun, the remaining five — K. Sai Shreesha, 29, Lakshmi Athulitha, 2, Sai Lakshmi Jyotsna, 19, Keerthi Pujitha, 17 and P. Sunitha, 40, are waiting near the bodies for help.
Guntur: Two pilgrims from Guntur were reported dead, while 10 others are missing at Kedarnath. M. Malleswari, 64, of Duggirala mandal of the district, took shelter from the heavy rain in a shed on June 15, and was washed away when she was going to a safer place, her son Shiva said.
K. Krishna Kumari, 50, of Munnagi village, also died in the rain and sluch at Kedarnath though her husband Satyanarayana was rescued. Five other pilgrims accompanying them are still missing.
Sabbisetty Pulla Rao, 63, and his wife Bharathi, 58, who went to Kedarnath from Amaravati in Guntur, are reportedly missing. Their son M. Guravaiah stated that his parents were not answering the cellphone for the last three days. Their travel agency has listed them as missing.
Nizamabad: Five of six families from Kamareddy in Nizamabad district were reported missing at Kedarnath. Of them, Kokkonda Ravinder and his family members Rani and Rekha got in touch with their family here. There was no communication from the other families.
Kurnool: Relatives of 22 pilgrims hailing from Adoni in Kurnool district said there was no communication from them from June 15.
The group left Adoni by train on May 27 for the Char Dham yatra. They last spoke to the relatives on June 15.
Some good news
But there were some bright spots too. P. Satyanarayana Rao, a technical officer with DRDO’s Research Centre Imarat in Hyderabad was rescued from flood-hit Kedarnath. Chittoor collector Solomon Arokiaraj said 41 pilgrims from the district were safe in a guest house in Haridwar.
A report from Anantapur said 32 pilgrims were stranded at various locations in Uttaranchal but were safe. As per the directions of the Chief Minister N. Kiran Kumar Reddy, the chief secretary Dr P.K. Mohanty is reviewing facilities for pilgrims stranded in Uttarakhand. Dr T. Radha, commissioner, disaster management, is rushing to Delhi on Friday. Free food and accomodation are being provided.
Extra coaches were being added to the trains coming from Delhi to AP.